Estelle stepped forward, her fingers brushing his as she took the basket. “Show me what to look for.”
Leo moved beside her, close enough to feel her warmth but not touching. “The ripe ones give a little when you press them,” he explained, demonstrating on a plump tomato. “And they come off the vine easily when they’re ready.”
She followed his guidance and carefully selected a tomato. “Like this?”
“Perfect,” Leo murmured.
They moved through the greenhouse together, Adara darting ahead to exclaim over each new discovery while Leo explained what he was growing and why. He showed them his prized purple basil, the delicate lettuces he’d developed specifically for the restaurant, and the experimental pepper varieties in the back corner.
“You created these?” Estelle asked, genuinely impressed.
Leo nodded, unable to keep the pride from his voice. “I’ve been crossbreeding peppers for years, trying to get the balance just right. Heat, sweetness, depth.”
“That’s remarkable,” she said, studying him with new appreciation.
His bear preened.She’s seeing that we like to nurture.
They gathered ingredients, falling into an easy rhythm as they worked their way around the greenhouse. As they filled the basket, Leo began to let himself believe that this was what their future would look like. One day.
One day soon,his bear said.
That day will never come soon enough,Leo replied.
“Mama, look!” Adara called, pointing to a praying mantis perched on a leaf. “It’s like a tiny dragon!”
Leo crouched beside her. “That’s a praying mantis. They’re good for the garden. They eat the bugs that would eat my plants.”
“Like a guardian,” Adara said thoughtfully.
“Exactly like a guardian,” Leo agreed, meeting Estelle’s eyes over the child’s head.
“This place feels... alive.” She ran her fingers along a tomato vine, breathing in the warm, green-scented air. “Peaceful.”
“That’s why I built it,” Leo admitted. “Growing things grounds me. It has since I was a boy. There’s nothing like seeing the first shoots push through the dirt. It has a magic of its own.”
By the time they returned to the house, their basket was full of fresh produce, and the afternoon light had mellowed toward evening. Leo set Adara up at the kitchen counter with a small cutting board and showed her how to tear basil leaves while he and Estelle worked side by side, preparing the rest of the meal.
She’s relaxing,his bear observed as Estelle laughed at something Adara said.The walls are coming down, bit by bit.
As Leo stirred the sauce for the pasta, he glanced up to find Estelle watching him, her expression thoughtful and intent. There was something in her eyes—a decision forming, a truth hovering on the edge of being spoken.
“Everything okay?” he asked quietly.
She nodded, but there was a tension in her shoulders that hadn’t been there moments before. “Just thinking.”
“About?” Leo prompted gently.
Estelle glanced at Adara, who was happily arranging tomato slices into patterns on a plate, completely absorbed in her task.
“About how this feels,” she said, her voice so low he had to lean closer to hear it. “Being here. With you.”
His bear went very still, sensing the importance of the moment.
“And how does it feel?” Leo asked, hardly daring to breathe.
Estelle met his eyes, and he could have drowned in their gray-gold depths. “Like something I haven’t let myself want for a very long time.”
The words hung between them, weighted with meaning beyond their simple shape. Leo’s heart hammered against his ribs as he recognized what that admission had cost her.
